Italian chef Massimo Bottura announced he is working on the opening of a university based on gastronomy in Modena. He was speaking at Chef Sache in Cologne, Germany where he gave an inspirational presentation on creativity and his creative process. "Opening a gastronomic university in my home town Modena next to Osteria Francescana is my dream and we are working on it," said the Italian chef who has become world famous for his artistic and philosophical approach to food. Speaking in Cologne, Bottura said that future chefs will need to be well-read, cultured but also ready to get their hands dirty because knowledge comes from the basics. Seen as an iconic figure among fellow chefs, Bottura has for many years been misunderstood in his home country. But this year, he has reached the pinnacle of his career. He reached the number 2 position in the World's Best 50 list and has had huge success with the charitable soup kitchen at the Refettorio Ambrosiana in Milan. And he was also in … [Read more...]
Massimo Bottura: The day Italy beat France 2-0
When French president Francois Hollande went to Modena earlier this week he provocatively said that he had heard there was a restaurant there that could compete with the top restaurants in France and he wanted to see whether this was true. And according to Italian chef Massimo Bottura of the award winning Osteria Francescana he passed the test with flying colours. Speaking to Michela Scacchioli of La Repubblica he said Hollande had told him at the end of the evening that Italy had beaten France 2-0 this evening. "This is not cuisine, this is art." The French president went to dine at Bottura's Osteria Francescana together with Italian premier Matteo Renzi. Bottura made a name for himself, not just for his award-winning cuisine but also for a noble project to raise awareness on the issue of food waste by feeding Milan's poor, using scraps of food from the Milan Expo. The Italian chef said it was not a common feature to have a head of state eat in his restaurant in Modena. "It … [Read more...]
Adria brothers cook together for first time in seven years at Bottura’s soup kitchen
The Adria brothers cooked together for the first time in seven years at Massimo Bottura's soup kitchen in Milan, the Refettorio Ambrosiano, today 2 September. Ferran Adria wrote on his twitter feed that he was supporting Massimo Bottura's amazing initiative while his brother Albert took to Instagram to say it was amazing how time flies and that it was the first time in seven years that he has cooked with his brother. Foodies around the world would probably have travelled thousands of kilometres and paid hundreds if not thousands to get a taste of Ferran and Albert Adria's cooking. They have not cooked together since they took different paths seven years ago. Instead, they joined forces with Italy's top chef Massimo Bottura to feed Milan's poor using 'waste' generated at the Milan Expo. Massimo Bottura wrote on his Instagram feed that they had cooked a chicken nugget that wants to be a soup to a group of children present at the Refettorio yesterday for lunch. The Italian … [Read more...]
Anthony Genovese (Il Pagliaccio): Italian cuisine is easy to understand
Italian cuisine is appreciated everywhere in the world because of the quality of its produce. "It is a cuisine that does not require specific emphasis on technique but rather allows the flavours and colours of the produce to speak for themselves. For this reason, it is also easier to understand at the first impact," says Anthony Genovese, chef of Roman restaurant Il Pagliaccio. The two Michelin star chef was born in France in 1968 from Italian parents and spent a long time in the South of France despite his Calabrian roots. After travelling from France to England, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand he ended up in Ravello at the Hotel Palazzo Sasso and Rossellini's restaurant where he got his first Michelin star. "It was normal to end up in Rome because it is a city I have always loved. When I was called to go there, I had no second thoughts. Unfortunately it did not end well because the restaurant closed. But being a stubborn Calabrian, I decided to stay and try again." An Italian … [Read more...]
Riccardo Di Giacinto: Enogastronomy could help Italy, Europe out of the crisis
Enogastronomy has the potential to take help Italy and Europe exit the current crisis, Roman chef Riccardo Di Giacinto, one Michelin star chef of Ristorante All'Oro in Rome said. "Communications have changed the world of gastronomy. But the world has also changed, interest in cuisine is at an all time high and I believe that food and wine could help bring us out of the crisis in Italy and Europe," Di Giacinto told Food and Wine Gazette when we caught up with him at Flemish Food Bash earlier this month. Di Giacinto has trained both in Italy and abroad, spending over 11 years away from Italy. He worked four years under Ferran Adrià of el Bulli fame and Marco Pierre White among others, before opening All'Oro in April 2007. "Experience abroad is always important because you meet colleagues and always take something back home with you. And I also hope that you leave something for your colleagues as well." The chef from Rome sees Italian cuisine today as being great, "in grande … [Read more...]
Heinz Beck: Top-end cusine can and should also be healthy
Heinz Beck, executive chef of the only three Michelin star restaurant in Rome, is one of Italy's best chefs. Known for his healthy cooking, maybe unusual for a three-Michelin star chef, the German born Beck has been in Rome for the past 21 years. He was the only three Michelin star chef to cook at the Flemish Food Bash held earlier this month on the Belgian coast. We caught up with him for an interview just as the floodgates opened during the lunch service. Amid lightning, thunder and heavy rain, Beck had to improvise moving the space around to ensure that he and his staff didn't end up serving water-lodged pasta. I had to ask him whether these were the most difficult cooking conditions he had every encountered. He smiles and tells me it is not difficult, but different. He told Food and Wine Gazette that "these events are always very nice. Unfortunately we have a bit of a problem with the weather." Luckily, the weather conditions improved later in the day. Beck is a firm … [Read more...]
Advice from Massimo Bottura to young chef: Keep your feet on the ground
Mark Moriarty, an Irish chef has won the San Pellegrino Young Chef 2015, an event organised for the first time this week. One of the judges of the competition, that took place in Milan was the most renowned chef Massimo Bottura. As soon as the award was announced, Bottura invited the Irish chef to cook at the Refettorio Ambrosiano, the soup kitchen in Milan which is feeding the poor thanks to the creativity and generosity of Bottura and chefs who are using scraps and food that would otherwise be wasted, to raise awareness on the problem of food waste. Mark Moriarty immediately accepted the invitation from the chef of Osteria Francescana in Modena and said he was honoured to be invited to cook at the Refettorio. He said he was looking forward to the first of many opportunities. To which the Italian chef replied with a quick thought: "First of all after yesterday night, feet on the ground." It's a lesson we'd like to highlight because it is so important to remember. It is no … [Read more...]
Vissani hits out at low-temperature cooking: ‘It is tasteless’
Italian chef Gianfranco Vissani has hit out at sous-vide cooking at low temperature saying he is totally against this type of cooking. "It is neither modern nor adds anything in terms of flavour and consistency of ingredients." Vissani is the head chef of Casa Vissani and a famous television personality in Italy. He is the chef of two Michelin Star restaurant Ristorante Vissani since 2007 and has authored many books on gastronomy and cuisine. In an article he penned on Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Friday 26th May, Vissani wrote that it has become common to speak about low-temperature cooking but this is a trend he is against for various reasons. Vissani said the advocates of low temperature cooking try to sell this technique as new. "But anyone can guess what such cooking is about. Chefs have been using this technique as a necessity, and not for culinary art, to preserve ingredients which otherwise would need to be cooked fresh. The technique to cook at low … [Read more...]
10 Chianti Classico producers you should know
There is no question that when it comes to Italian wines, Tuscany and Piedmont are among the favourite regions of wine connoisseurs. The wines of Tuscany like the region are special and there is a lot to write about but in this post we would like to place the spotlight on the Chianti Classico, which is a region within the Chianti region between the Tuscan cities of Florence and Siena. Most wine lovers will know a Chianti wine but few will actually be able to name producers from the Chianti region. Older consumers might also remember a squat bottle which used to be enclosed in a straw basket but this is only used by very few producers now. For many years, Chianti had a bad name and was associated with cheap Italian wine but when made by great producers this is a wine that has character and is exceptionally good value for money especially when compared to the pricier Super Tuscans, Brunello di Montalcino or the Nobile di Montepulciano. It was Baron Bettino Ricasoli who … [Read more...]
By using food waste we can help feed the planet – Massimo Bottura
The project by Massimo Bottura to feed Milan's poor using food waste generated from the pavilions of Milan Expo is helping to raise awareness about the problem but is also the start of something that could be much bigger than what Massimo Bottura might have imagined. He says that interest in this project is growing to the extent that there could be a 'Refettorio Ambrosiano' in New York and one in Lima. "Daniel Humm left this place with tears in his eyes after he came here. He was emotional and said he wanted to take this project with him to New York. Gaston Acurio, the Peruvian chef who will cook at the Refettorio towards the end of June said this is such an extraordinary project that he wants to have something similar in the poorest quarters in Lima," Massimo said. Massimo Bottura is the chef of Osteria Francescana in Modena, recently voted 2nd world's best restaurant. We have already urged our readers to help Massimo in this project by donating. Trust us, this is a worthy … [Read more...]